I. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates generally to the field of garment folding devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to a device which automatically folds long sleeves of a garment while simultaneously feeding the garment to a body folding device.
II. Description of the Related Art.
Generally, in the garment industry it is desirable to fold garments so that they can be more easily packaged for shipment from the manufacture. However, the folding of long sleeve garments, such as shirts, sweatshirts and jerseys, is particularly bothersome. This is due mostly to the awkward presence of the long sleeves which present added bulk when folded and which represent a problem for prior art automatic folding machines. Although there are machines which can fold the long sleeves of long sleeve garments, they are relatively slow and do not continuously move the garment through the machine in a non-stop fashion. Due to the inefficiency of the prior art machines, it is still common for a human operator to hand-fold the sleeves behind the torso prior to placing the shirt on a folding tray of an automatic shirt torso folding machine. This is time consuming as well as inconsistent in sleeve placement; and furthermore, most hand-fold methods result in an unacceptably bulky accumulation of sleeve material.
Lornitzo in U.S. Pat. No. 3,419,199 describes a shirt-folding machine and method. This machine has a set of sleeve-folding arms which are disposed in respective clearance positions so that the long sleeves of the shirt may be draped in the path of movement of the arms. The arms move one after the other in sweeping arcuate paths to carry the long sleeves upwardly to contact the shirt torso. The arms remain in contact with the long sleeves while the remainder of the shirt is folded.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,477,619, Lee describes an automatic shirt folding machine. To fold the long sleeves of a garment, this device first secures and partially folds the shirt torso. A pair of arms are pivotally mounted to the machine, one on each side. Extending from each of the arms are a pair of spaced apart rods. The long sleeve is manually draped over the upper most rod and hangs below the other rod. As each arm pivots, one after the other, the upper most rod carries the long sleeve toward the shirt torso. The other rod then pins and holds the long sleeve in contact with the shirt torso while the remainder of the shirt torso is folded.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,444 issued to Applicant Cooper describes a method and apparatus for folding a long sleeve shirt. This machine has a long sleeve folding section which is comprised of a pair of vertically spaced apart platforms and a pair of tucker rods. The platforms do not have belts or conveyers, and the shirt does not move in a continuous, non-stop manner through this section. Each of the tucker rods are respectively, pivotally mounted at one end thereof to a rotatable post. In operation, the garment is secured at its top portion to an upper platform surface by clamping fingers with the long sleeves hanging below the lower platform. One of the tucker rods elevates and then sweeps into the space between the platforms in a arcuate motion to carry one of the sleeves toward the lower portion of the garment. The other tucker rod then elevates and sweeps into the space in a like manner, carrying the other sleeve toward the lower portion of the garment. The sleeves together form a V-like appearance. The tucker rods pivot away from the platforms, and the platforms move together and carry the shirt to a receiving element of the next section of the machine.